Magic Johnson Research Paper

Magic Johnson Living with HIV by. Arianna Viera

After a press conference, the that it thought that Johnson had just pronounced his own death sentence. Earvin "Magic" Johnson, former basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers (position was point guard), shocked the world on November 7, 1991 when he told that he had caught HIV the disease that causes AIDS. He has been living with it for the last 20 years of his life.

Life was not always about HIV for Johnson, he is very well know for his role as point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. If fact he was know as one America’s best Players for 12 years. From a large family, Johnson grew up with nine brothers and sisters. Both of his parents worked—his father for the General Motors plant in town

For the second time in his pro career, the Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers for the championship title. Additionally, Johnson, who scored 13 points, and made 13 rebounds and 13 assists in Game 6 of the 1982 Finals, earned his second series MVP award. The following season (1982-83) saw the third Finals match-up between the Lakers and the 76ers in four years. This time, however, L.A. was defeated by Philadelphia, losing four consecutive games to the 76ers and winning none during the series. In the 1984 NBA Finals, Johnson again encountered rival Larry Bird, who had signed with the Boston Celtics. This was the first of several match-ups between the two teams. The Celtics beat the Lakers in a tight competition—four games to three—for the 1984 championship. The Lakers, however, took down the Celtics the following year in the finals. Johnson was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

In November 1991, Magic Johnson retired from the Lakers after revealing that he had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. He believed he contracted the disease through unprotected sexual activity. The diagnosis was especially hard for Johnson. At the time he learned he had the disease, his wife Cookie was pregnant with their first child. Both his wife and son, Earvin III, turned out to not have